1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to tools for the care of equine animals, and in particular, to tools for cleaning the hooves of horses and other equine animals.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
A horse's hoof typically has a concave sole on its underside. When a horseshoe is secured by nailing to the hoof's outer wall, the inner edge of the horseshoe does not seat well against the concave sole of the hoof under the horseshoe, thereby forming a cavity recess or space between the horseshoe and the concave sole of the hoof. As the horse walks or runs, loose ground surface materials such as dirt, crushed limestone, sand, pebbles, etc., can collect within this cavity recess between the horseshoe and the sole of the hoof, often causing lameness in the horse. This problem is especially acute on modern arena surfaces that are covered by crushed limestone, which penetrates the sole of the hoof into the sensitive tissues thereunder, often creating an abscess within the horse's hoof that causes the horse to become lame.
It is therefore desirable to be able to easily remove these accumulated ground surface materials from the cavity recess between the horseshoe and the sole of the hoof so that lameness of the horse can be prevented, and it is especially desirable to remove the accumulated ground surface materials without the trouble and expense of having to remove the horseshoe from the horse's hoof.
Well-known solutions for this problem include various horseman's knives and hoof picks, but such prior art solutions have been found to be less than optimal.
A preliminary patentability search in Class 168, subclass 48.1, produced the following patents, some of which may be relevant to the present invention: Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 544,540, issued Aug. 13, 1895; Wilbanks, U.S. Pat. No. 547,703, issued Oct. 8, 1895; McCartea, U.S. Pat. No. 567,493, issued Sep. 8, 1896; Simuro etal., U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,607, issued Feb. 12, 1980; Sabol, U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,798, issued Jan. 11, 1983; Tippin, U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,222, issued Jan. 5, 1993; Sapyta, U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,337, issued Nov. 19, 1996; and Pitchford, U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,697, issued Jun. 10, 1997.
None of these references, either singly or in combination, disclose or suggest the present invention.